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City Academy

Secondary · Birmingham · B15 2EF

Data updated

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Needs attention

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Needs attentionAchievement: Needs attentionAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 10 February 2026 · report published 19 April 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

554 pupils · 74% of 750 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Free schools
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
57% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
49.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
0.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.corecity.academy
URN
148187

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 34 families named it first for 61 Year 7 places, 0.56 first choices per place. We hold 6 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2021 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 10 February 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Needs attention. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.56 first-choice applications per place

61 places offered · 34 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

150 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
36.4
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
40.7%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
23.3%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.2
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school36.4
Median of its 12 closest peers44.2
Birmingham average47.7
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Jewellery Quarter AcademyBirmingham · under 1 mile awaySerious weaknesses35.2
Hillcrest School and Sixth Form CentreBirmingham · 4 miles awayGood52.1
Holy Trinity Catholic SchoolBirmingham · 2 miles awayGood44
Mulberry UTCLondon · 103 miles awayGood30.3
Star King Solomon AcademyBirmingham · 2 miles awaySpecial measures34.1
All Saints Catholic High SchoolLondon · 100 miles awayGood44.1
St John Wall Catholic SchoolBirmingham · 4 miles awayGood44.7
Harris Academy BermondseyLondon · 103 miles awayOutstanding54.6
Harris Science Academy East LondonLondon · 104 miles awayOutstanding56.9
City of London Academy, Highgate HillLondon · 98 miles awayGood40.3
Ark Boulton AcademyBirmingham · 2 miles awayGood44.2
Hodge Hill Girls' SchoolBirmingham · 4 miles awayStrong standard48.7

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Black African 24% (Birmingham 10%, England 5%) · Any other ethnic group 16% (Birmingham 7%, England 3%) · Any other Mixed background 16% (Birmingham 4%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 11% (Birmingham 3%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 8% (Birmingham 25%, England 5%) · Any other White background 4% (Birmingham 4%, England 7%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Birmingham 3%, England 2%) · White British 3% (Birmingham 22%, England 59%) · Not recorded 3% (Birmingham 2%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 2% (Birmingham 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Birmingham 2%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 2% (Birmingham 6%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (Birmingham 6%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Birmingham 1%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Birmingham 3%, England 3%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Birmingham 0%, England 0%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
27.3%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

71.87 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Birmingham: 15.08 suspensions and 0.24 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
15.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

80% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school · 12% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

72.7% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.8 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £52,766; 16.7% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£8,654
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 70% (77%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (6%) · supplies and services 17% (11%) · educational supplies 11% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 3% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£856,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
80%
Continuing in education
80%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
0%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher61.2%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications12.8%18.1%
In managerial or professional work44.1%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways12.7%18.1%
Residents in very good health54%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier25.9%62.3%
Social housing24.1%17.1%
Privately rented49.9%20.5%
Detached houses2.1%22.9%
Flats80.7%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms3.6%21.1%
Households with no car or van48.6%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01033624 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£205,000469 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£142,000–£288,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (12)£667,500
Semi-detached (10)£687,500
Terraced (37)£365,000
Flat (410)£186,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
13an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
115an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
22an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools